Rand steady, focus on current account data

06/14/2016

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Uncertainty over this week's Fed meeting has weighed on markets, though the U.S. central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged after the much weaker-than-expected May nonfarm payrolls report.A street money changer counts South African Rands in Harare, Zimbabwe, May 5, 2016.

South Africa's rand steadied early on Tuesday, before the release of current account data later in the day and a Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting this week.

At 0648 GMT, the rand traded at 15.1725 per U.S. dollar, largely unchanged from its New York close on Monday.

"ZAR is likely to be vulnerable to foreign sentiment going into U.S. Fed meeting tomorrow, although large surprise on South African current account data today may provide some momentum," NKC African Economics said in a note.

The central bank is due to release first-quarter current account data at 0800 GMT. The deficit widened in the fourth quarter to 5.1 percent of gross domestic product; an unexpectedly large swing either way could move the rand as well.

Stocks were set to open lower at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange's Top-40 futures index down 0.52 percent.

In fixed income, yield for the benchmark instrument due in 2026 added 1.5 basis points to 9.13 percent.